Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The older I get, the more I rely on routines to get me
through the day.Families are busier
than they used to be, and ours is no exception.In order to remember where I need to be, or what’s to do during any given week,I make lists, and I still keep a paper
appointment book.The structure of the
list gets things done.Menus get planned
for the entire week, and shopping only happens once/week.Nothing takes longer than half an hour to
prepare, so I know that at 5 pm I can check the menu on the fridge, all my
ingredients will be on hand, and dinner will be on the table at a reasonable
hour.Chores like laundry or cleaning
the bathroom happen on regular predictable days, so I don’t have to think about
them.(My brain is full enough these
days that I don’t want to have to think about the little stuff.)

Now, when it comes to quilting, my routines are a bit more
tenuous.When I’m under a deadline, I’m
happy to get up at 4:30 or 5:00 am to sew (and I never miss a deadline, even
when it means losing a bit of sleep.)The rest of the time, quilting fits into the corners of the day –
cutting patterns during my son’s swimming lesson, trimming threads while I wait
to pick him up after school, etc.For
the last five years, I’ve been selling my work at local craft fairs during the
summer/fall.This year, my plans are in
flux and I need to develop a new routine.My energy is shifting toward entering more contests and finding
galleries to host my work.I want to
start new series, tackle some larger pieces, and be done with the small items
that I only do for fairs.Much as I love
the craft fairs, they are not my most lucrative venue.

My routine is out of sync, and I don’t have much creative
momentum going at the moment.(Spending
part of the month on Halloween costumes has put a dent in my quilting time too,
but it’s fun, so that’s ok.)And, by not much creative momentum, I mean
that I have five small quilts laid out and ready to stitch, another large piece
half done, and fifteen ideas in my head.But, none of them particularly motivate me at the moment.I’m curious to see how my art will change
over the next few months.When the time
is right, a new routine will emerge.In
the mean time, I don’t mind sitting through a period of change.Sometimes, the best creative work emerges
when I don’t overthink but turn my brain off for a while and spend time
enjoying the season, spending time with family, and witnessing the world.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Been a while.Time to write more often, as the season turns
cold and my thoughts slow, clarify, and turn inward again.Summer was wonderful – I made a purple cow
lap quilt for a child thousands of miles away.My show in the Hosmer Gallery of the Forbes Library (Northampton) went
well, with six sales resulting.My
family enjoyed a week in a Vermont state park, complete with canoeing, the most
intense rainstorm of my life, and a hike up Mt. Mansfield, VT’s highest peak,
via its steepest trail.(Those three
events were, fortunately, on different days.)My son’s blossoming friendships resulted in many summer play dates by the river, and we settled into a
routine of time outdoors and assorted summer camps, punctuated by trips to
museums and brief visits by family.

My new autumn routine is to
sneak out of the house every morning around sunrise with a cup of tea or coffee
to watch the sky and listen to the birds wake.
I can’t stay out long, my son wakes around the same time, but these
little moments of solitude are my favorite part of the day. Last month, a pair of Carolina Wrens stopped
by. Every morning, they sing – more
musically than any Carolina wren’s I’ve heard before. Perhaps they’ll stay the winter. The first time I snuck out, the air was full
of mist, the wrens were singing, and the ground was covered in damp yellow
leaves. Watch for a mini-quilt version
of that morning. I
plan to enter it in a Quilting Arts Magazine challenge.Did you know that these wrens say “tea kettle,
tea kettle, tea”?

Yesterday, our first frosty
morning, the sky was that clear rich blue color that you only get just before
sunrise or after sunset.The air was so
cold and still, I could hear leaves popping lose and falling from the trees.There was a narrow crescent moon rising in
the east above the sun, and Venus glowed above the moon.I walked to the edge of the woods behind the
cemetery next door, and a large flock of crows passed over, headed east.My impression was that they were headed into
the sunrise to warm up!Watch for more
crows in my quilts too!Here’s the piece
that I donated to the Forbes Library’s silent auction at the end of this month. Auction details are here.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Need a fun, small-town 4th of July parade? Check out the one in Chesterfield, MA this Wednesday at 10:30 am. They have a quilt exhibit in the church on the corner. This piece, along with several of my other quilts, will be there. This one's based on a photo I took at the parade last year!

Monday, May 7, 2012

I've been working on a brown cow baby quilt. Here it is in progress (almost done!) I just need to decide whether to add a second small outer border in pink, or if it's big enough as is and just finish off the stitching.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

This is a composite of several photos that Tom and I took on our trips to Hawaii. It's for Fairfield's Catch the American Spirit Calendar contest. (It was selected for the calendar!) This piece includes sixty different fabrics, lace, a huge assortment of of thread, some hand-coloring, and lots of fun!

Check out some of my more recent work and sales! The pieces here were all created since I moved to Massachusetts. Most are sold, but I would be happy to recreate any of them and many are parts of larger series. Want to see my older pieces? Take a peek at my Gallery Website here.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Last month, I had a wonderful time talking to the
ladies of the Mohawk Trail Quilter’s Guild about designing landscape
quilts. They were a marvelous little
group and it was nice to get back to teaching a bit. (In the past, I’ve taught some quilting,
jewelry making, stained glass, and silver-smithing.) Here’s the landscape I assembled for them –
unfinished of course. We did some show and tell, they
asked lots of good questions, and (I hope) everyone had a fun!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Here we are, beginning to lay out the quilt top.I like to work from back to frontjust like a watercolor painter would;
starting with the sky and working my way down and forward.Still need the sun, more blueberries, and a
bit of work on the foreground.I just
love this horse fabric!!!The scene
reminds me of the Colorado mountains, where I once spent about six months.It was a chilly but breath-taking landscape.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

As a child, I was as horse crazy as many other girls.Our neighbors had horses, and I spent many
hours hanging over their fence, sketching and watching them.Some of us never outgrow that phase, and
although I never got to own a horse myself, I always try to have at least one
or two horse quilts on hand.Currently,
I am working on a small commission based on a little quilt called Morning Ramble.Here’s a sneak peak at its development.

About Me

Welcome! I'm a fiber artist/quilter living and working in Western Massachusetts, raising a family, and spending every spare moment on my art! You can find my quilts at the Paradise City arts Festival in Northampton, MA over Columbus Day weekend, and occasionally in local libraries and galleries.